Irish Soda Bread

St Patty's Day is tomorrow.  There is nothing Irish about me.  You could say that I'm a total M&M or Mediterranean Mutt.  Nonetheless, I intend to celebrate this holiday as most American do, Irish or not.  I'm going to wear green (I don't want to be pinched) and I'm going to cook my first ever corned beef and cabbage.  Actually, I even started the festivities today.  I wrapped a green bandana around my dog's neck and I baked an Irish soda bread.

There are a lot of debates out there about what is a true Irish soda bread.  Everyone agrees on the basic ingredients: flour, baking soda (hence the name), buttermilk and salt.  After that, any recipe can be called Irish!  Some use white flour and some use whole wheat flour creating two main groups of soda bread: white or brown.  Most of the white versions have raisins giving it a very American twist .  Others use nuts and seeds giving the bread a more wholesome texture.

I chose to make my own version using a recipe by Noreen Kinney.  It is a brown version loaded with sunflower seeds, whole wheat flour and oats.  My version uses toasted pepitas seeds that I had in my freezer instead of the sunflower seeds and oat groats and oat bran.  You can create your own version by substituting these ingredients with your own nuts, oatmeal or wheat germ.

My Irish soda bread turned out great.  It has a very rustic texture that reminds me of a whole-wheat yeast bread, only it took me just one hour from start to finish to enjoy a slice with cream cheese and orange marmalade (recipe to come in the next blog).  I can't wait for breakfast to do this again and then for dinner to try it with cheese.  And I won't wait until next year to make it again!

Have a great St Patrick's Day!  Wear green, drink beer, eat corned beef and be safe...

Irish Soda Bread
1 3/4 cup flour
1 cup whole wheat flour plus more for shaping
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup oat bran
1/4 cup oat groats
2 tablespoons flaxseeds
1/3 cup toasted pepitas
1 large egg
About 1 3/4 cup buttermilk

Adjust an oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 425ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir together the flours.  Add the butter and work it with your fingertips until the fat particles are very fine.  Stir in the baking soda, salt, sugar, oat bran, oat groats, flaxseeds and pepitas.

Beat the egg lightly with a fork in a 2-cup glass measuring cup.  Add enough buttermilk to come to the 2-cup line and stir with the fork to combine well.  Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until the dough gathers into a thick, wet-looking mass.

Sprinkle the parchment paper with some whole wheat flour and scrape the dough onto it.  Dust the dough with a bit more flour.  Pat the dough into a circular shape about 7 inches across and 2 inches high.  Using a rubber spatula or plastic scrapper, gently make a cross-shaped indentation on the top of the loaf going right to the edges.  Don't cut through the dough.

Bake the bread for about 40 minutes, until it is well browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 200ºF.  Cool the loaf on a wire cooking rack and serve warm or at room temperature.  Cut into wedges and serve with butter, jam, cheese or dipped in your favorite stew.

(Will keep up to 3 days wrapped well at room temperature.)